Asking The Tough Questions

I love sports. I love football. I love everything about the game: the preparation, the scouting, the practice, absolutely everything. I hope one day to get into coaching ball at some level as well as teach. As I was reading the article all I could think about were the similarities between teaching and coaching. The ability to convey knowledge and information for a diverse group of learners; each learning in their own way! As a coach, your goal is to prepare your players in such a way that when the lights come on, they are able to function independently of you yelling in their ear and telling them what to do for every single thing! Likewise, as teachers our goal is to help mold students into independent and productive human beings. For this course specifically, into independent readers.

The manner in which we do this can vary. In order to encourage higher order thinking and problem solving we can ask questions that spark past knowledge about word recognition like the teacher did at the beginning of the article. One of the hardest things as a teacher is wait time. Giving the student ample time to struggle through hard concepts while also maintaining a healthy learning environment. This is absolutely critical in the students long term potential as a learner and thankfully as teachers, or coaches, we have an incredible opportunity to take part in this process! 

Week 4

The first reading prescribed for today, IRA/NAEYC Joint Position Statement, was very informative. Its focus on literacy for America’s youth and the process for that to occur was very well thought out with a focus on engaging children at a very young age. After reading this article one word has really stuck in my mind. Accountability. We have to find ways to engage families with young children and convey the importance of children growing up in a rich environment. As teachers we must make sure that we are setting the right example as both adults and professional teachers. We owe that much to ourselves, and more importantly, the children.

In the second article, Letting go of ‘letter of the week,’ I felt like the author made quite a few insightful thoughts. I thought it was really neat that the teacher was willing to make a change. I feel like we get so scared of making mistakes or causing waves in the system that we continue to go through the motions in a broken system. This type of attitude is the type that will help make long-term change.

The third article, Supporting Phonemic Awareness Development in the Classroom, really brought back old memories. I remember as an elementary student how much phonics helped me as a reader. I have vivid memories of struggling as a reader until the fourth 2^nd grade in which phonics really helped give me the confidence and knowledge to take my reading to another level. I think the teaching of phonics in classrooms is very important for the development of literacy in our students!

(http://thisversusthat.org/software/hooked-on-phonics-vs-baby-can-read-how-much-is-your-baby-can-read-program/)